Even though David Whitehead knew he wouldn’t be pitching any more this year, he said it was an ideal time to begin his career as a professional baseball player after he was selected in June’s draft.

So the Elon right-hander gave up his final season of eligibility to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies organization in June.

While uncertainty remains about the rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, Whitehead said he’s comfortable with the path he’s on.

“Coming back from surgery, nothing is guaranteed,” the 21-year-old said a few days ago. “I decided to go with it. It has been a good decision. It ended up working out.

“With the surgery, we didn’t really know what was going to happen. The things I did at Elon allowed me to get drafted. Coach (Mike) Kennedy has always taken very good care of me and looked out for me.”

Whitehead’s jump to the professional level means all three Elon underclassmen selected in the draft decided to end their college playing careers. First baseman Ryan Kinsella, the Southern Conference Player of the Year, and shortstop Antonio Alvarez were the others leaving after their junior seasons.

Whitehead’s college season ended well before the Phoenix qualified for the NCAA Tournament by winning the conference tournament.

He suffered his latest injury April 2. He had surgery April 30.

Still, the Phillies had seen enough — probably quite a bit last summer in becoming a Cape Cod League all-star — that they drafted him in the 34th round.

“It carries a lot of weight,” Kennedy said of the Cape Cod League, a summer circuit for college players.

Whitehead’s situation was different than most drafted players because of the long-term injury at the time of the draft. He has been working out in Clearwater, Fla., with other Phillies minor leaguers and rehabbing players. So while he’s not on an active roster, he interacted with potential future teammates. Clearwater is home to Philadelphia’s Florida State League and Gulf Coast League teams.

“You’re in a constant state of sweat down here,” he said.

Whitehead pitched in nine games covering 32 2/3 innings this year for Elon.

“We try to provide them with as much information as you can,” Kennedy said. “When you’re a junior and they throw some money at you, you have to consider that and there’s no guarantee it’s going to be there (another time).

“Great players aren’t great for one year.”

Kennedy, pointing to the pitcher’s physical size (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) and arm strength as pluses, said turning pro was a reasonable option for Whitehead. Because of the injury, he might have had to redshirt in 2014 with Elon.

Page 2 of 2 - “The challenge and concern from our end was that he might not be back for us because of the timing of the injury,” Kennedy said. “Who knows, he might have come back and pitched. That’s a tough scenario.”

Whitehead returns this week to attend classes for the fall semester and complete degree requirements. He majors in political science with a minor in business administration and criminal justice.

He’ll check in weekly with the Phillies, who have a detailed rehabilitation plan.

“I can pretty much do everything but throw at this point,” Whitehead said, expecting to begin tosses with a tennis ball during the semester. “They’re focused on getting back to the throwing part.”

Whitehead, who was drafted out of high school in 2010 in the 36th round by the Toronto Blue Jays, said it’s unclear when he’ll pitch again.

“It all depends on when I start throwing, on the progress with that and how that works,” he said. “It’s usually a longer process. It’s kind of a mystery.”

â–ª Kinsella and Alvarez are teammates again, this time in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.

Kinsella was sent last week to the Missoula Osprey of the rookie-level Pioneer League after 30 games (.239, one home run, five RBI) with the Hillsboro Hops of the short-season Class A Northwest League.

He joins Alvarez, who batted .211 in his first 30 games with Missoula.

Other Elon draftees this year were senior catcher Alex Swim, who’s batting .290 in 33 games with the Minnesota Twins club in the Gulf Coast League, and senior right-handed pitcher Kyle Webb, who’s 1-2 with one save and a 3.00 earned run average in 13 relief outings for State College Spikes, who are a St. Louis Cardinals farm team in the short-season Class A New-York-Penn League.